When I graduated from college, I rented. So did most of my friends. We ALL bought homes within 10 years. Honestly, it's not that hard. We all either had roommates or got TINY studios. When you're young it's not a big deal to live like that. You also do stuff like eat ramen, don't go on expensive vacations and get your furniture from the Goodwill. Save up your money and buy a house.
Is it worth it? It depends. Some people accumulate a lot more wealth by renting and just investing their money into stocks.
It's generally better if you can rent from some mom-and-pop vs. a large corporation. During this pandemic, I have friends who have rented, who really bent over backwards to work with renters to make sure they were not evicted. Large corporations can be much worse. For example, a retired friend of mine who bought a mobile home in Florida as her winter home had to give it up because a large corporation bought the mobile home park and jacked up the pad rentals.
Big problems that affect the supply of units include rent control and building codes. In states without these restrictions, it's easier to find affordable rentals as well as homes to purchase. Allowing multi-family homes and taller apartments lowers the cost and provides different options for tenants. But while multi-family homes (for rent or purchase) used to be common, they are no longer being built due to zoning codes. One way to deal with urban sprawl would be to allow more tall buildings but, again, regulations. Meanwhile, continuing to build single family homes eliminates green spaces.
This is not to say that we should do away with all regulations but in many cases they are truly counterproductive if the goal is to make safe and affordable housing available. For example, in Boulder Colorado, you were required, if you lived next to a greenspace, to paint your roof a particular shade of green. This particular shade was more expensive than others. Boulder also had other requirements that made housing much pricier.
Another area where regulations hurt people is when it comes to tiny homes. Often this is a great option for a young person. He or she only needs to save a fraction of what would be needed to buy a "real" house, and often he or she can do a lot of the construction to save even more. But many communities won't allow these dwellings. It seems unfair. If someone is too poor for a "real" house but would be happy in a tiny home - why not allow it? I think tiny house communities are a great solution for many groups such as new graduates and retirees.
